It features 240 Power Stars, with 106 being regular Power Stars, 116 of them being Green Stars, 8 being Red Stars, and 10 being Grand Stars. The stars are split between 10 areas and the 9th area is unlocked by having 80 Power Stars. Princess Peach's Castle is the main HUB, and links to the other Area HUBs, via Warp Pipe.

Contents

Story

Princess Peach is holding a party, and she invites Mario and Luigi. Once they arrive, they see many familiar faces, like MIPS, Maria, Toad, Toadette, and Luise. Peach taps her cup and is about to give a speech, when meteorites come crashing down. Airships surround the castle, and rip the roof off. Bowser, Bowser Jr., Boom Boom, and Kamek stand at the bow of the ship. Bowser reveals that he has waited too long for Peach to be his, and that he plans to kill Mario. Mario tries to jump onto the Airship, but Boom Boom punches him, and sends him flying into Toad Town. Peach, now vulnerable, is grabbed and pulled into the Airship by Kamek, and the ships start to fly away. Luigi uncharacteristically decides try to board the Airships himself, but his blasted by Kamek's wand into Toad Town as well. Toad, Toadette, Maria, and Luise are seen being put into cages by numerous Hammer Bros. and Magikoopas, and the ships fly of into the sky.

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

Mario and Luigi are seen waking up in Toad Town. They get up, and are greeted by Toadsworth and Toadbert, who tell them what happened. They explain Bowser has taken all the Power Stars and scattered them across the Mushroom Kingdom, and plans to weaken the kingdom so he can take it over. Mario and Luigi decide that they need to stop him. Before they depart, Toadsworth warns them that Bowser left behind some troops in the Castle, as well as a Power Star. The two head off to collect the Power Stars and defeat Bowser.

After rescuing a few stars, Toadbert tells Mario and Luigi that Bowser is located in Space, and the only way to get to where he is is by powering the Sling Cannon, which takes 80 Power Stars.

Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.

Characters

Playable

The final roster.

There are 4 playable characters in the game. When entering a course, the Character Select Screen will pop up, and you can choose which character you want to use.

Each character can use basic moves like jumping and crouching, and they can also use abilities Star Spin and Ground Pound.

They also have some obvious differences. Mario is faster and heavier, and easier to control, while Luigi can jump high and far, and slides when he stops. Toad is the fastest character, but jumps low, and Toadette can jump really far, but is the slowest character in the game.

Toadbert is another one of Mario's allies. He is the smartest Toad in the Mushroom Kingdom, and puts his intelligence to use. He informs Mario whenever he finds a Power Star he missed, or when they have a new passenger or item. He also acts as the Super Guide for this game.

Items

Coins replenish Mario and gang's health. They are also counted, and every 50 collected gives Mario and gang a 1-up. Coins are also used in Princess Peach's Castle to buy Purple Coins, which will eventually give you a Power Star.

Power Stars are the main item in this game. Mario and gang must recover all 230 Power Stars Bowser has scattered across the Mushroom Planet. There are also different types of Power Stars, such as Green Stars and Silver Stars.

Bronze Stars are Power Stars that are collected only if you get help from Toadbert in a course. They allow you to access the next course in the area, but are not counted in your Star count, the cannon, and the course it is collected on still counts as unfinished.

This is Mario's strongest form. As Invincible Mario, Mario runs at super fast speeds, and is invincible, so he can ram into enemies. Also, when he jumps, he does a flip, and goes super far. This Power-Up is temporary.

Hammer Mario is one of the oldest, and probably strongest Power-Ups Mario has. In this form, Mario can toss hammers at enemies from afar, and can duck in his shell to avoid fire. He is also relatively slower.

Tanooki Mario is another old Power-Up, but has some new tweaks. Tanooki Mario can hover for a short time, and can also climb trees. He can spin his tail to hurt enemies, and can turn into a statue to confuse them.

Boomerang Mario is one of Mario's newer Power-Ups. In this form, Mario can toss his boomerang at enemies to attack them from afar, but has to wait for it to return. Like Hammer Mario, he can also duck in his shell to avoid fire.

Wind Mario is one of the four new Power-Ups. Using this form, Mario can blow gusts of wind at enemies to spin them out or knock them off the edge. Mario has limited air, and after using it, must wait until he has more.

Bomber Mario is one of the four new Power-Ups. As Bomber Mario, Mario has three, inactive Bob-Ombs that follow him around, Mario can throw them at enemies. Once picked up, they light. After they are used, Mario must find another Bomber Suit to get more. He can also duck to avoid damage from the explosion.

Bidybud Mario is one of the four new Power-Ups. In this form, Mario can fly for a while, until the gauge empties. In the air, if Mario collects Coins, he can fly for as long as he likes. He can also stick to some surfaces, and land on flowers and clouds.

Legend

Name

Description

Power Star

A regular Power Star. It is obtained in almost any normal mission.

Super Key

A Super Key is found in certain boss battles, and can unlock characters and hidden secrets.

Grand Star

A large Power Star with the ability to unlock a new area. Found in the final course of each area.

Secret Power Star

Green Stars that are hidden throughout courses. They can only be found during certain missions.

Special Power Star

A red Power Star that will only appear after a certain amount of the game is complete.

Areas

As with the rest of the Super Mario 3D series, Mario can access each area at any given time once it is unlocked, and there is no specific order in which he needs to collect stars.

Super Mario exploit also features the Star Glider, an aircraft that allows Mario and co to travel across the different levels, similar to Starship Mario from Super Mario Galaxy 2

Area 1 - Toad Town

Course

Unlocked by

Information

Mission(s)

Mission Information

Boss(es)

Petal Town

Default area.

A fancy yet simplistic town filled with many Toads.

Battle in the Sewers

Mario must find the Warp Pipe that leads him to the sewers, and find out what is clogging the pipes.

Mario must collect the 5 Silver stars hidden around Petal Town to form the Power Star.

None

The Fountain's Trapdoor

Mario must find the hidden ? Switch to open a trapdoor in the fountain, and find the Power Star in a maze.

None

Green Star in the Maze

In The Fountain's Trapdoor, once you enter the maze, go right, and follow the section behind the Power Star. Hit the ? Switch, and go to the section where the Power Star is, and enter the newly-opened hole. The Green Star will be at the back of the room.

None

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Chocolate Mountains

Beat Silver Stars of Toad Town.

Mountains made out of the finest chocolate in the kingdom far north of Petal Town.

The White Chocolate Mountain

Mario must find a switch to activate a Warp Pipe that leads him to the White Chocolate Mountain, and reach the top.

None

Cocoa Pyramid

Mario must find the hidden Cocoa Pyramid and find the Power Star hidden in it's "eye".

Mario must reach the Power Star across Chocolate Lake, using Hammer Mario to hit a switch on the other side of it.

None

Green Star in the Jujubes

In Cocoa Pyramid, instead of using Dig Yoshi to go into the Pyramid, continue on until you see a Starman. Use it, and go to the right. Run through all 7 fences so you can access "Candy Crops". Near the far right, there will be a large, green candy. Mario must break it to get the Green Star.

None

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Mushroom City

Beat The White Chocolate Mountain.

The capital city of the Mushroom Kingdom with bright lights, busy roads, and many secrets.

Mushroom City's Brightest Light

Mario must reach a Power Star located on top of one of the light posts, with the help of Yoshi and the Blimp Fruit.

None

Late Night Chase

Mario must find the car that has the Power Star hidden inside it, and the only way is to hit it as Invincible Mario.

None

Petey in the Big City

Mario must defeat Petey Piranha, who is terrorizing the citizens of Mushroom City.

A very wide field of dead grass and old trees. Many Splunkins reside here.

Splunkin Exploit

Mario must lead the Gold Plunkin into the graveyard so it will become a Power Star.

None

Area 3 - Sarasaland

Area 4 - Battlefield

Area 5 - Retro Tunnels

Area 6 - Frozen Flame Cavern

Area 7 - Petal Towers

Area 8 - Dark World

Area 9 - Bowser's Lava Sky

Area 10 - Comet Observatory

Achievements

Name

Points

How to unlock

Welcome!

10

Play the game for the first time

Fiery Start

20

Play as Fire Mario for the first time

Ice to Meet You

20

Play as Ice Mario for the first time

Invincible Hero

30

Play as Invincible Mario for the first time

Toolboy

30

Play as Hammer Mario for the first time

Mythical Man

30

Play as Tanooki Mario for the first time

Hopping Swimmer

20

Play as Frog Mario for the first time

Royal Bumble

30

Play as Bee Mario for the first time

The One Who Vanished

40

Play as Boo Mario for the first time

Rock and Roll Over

40

Play as Rock Mario for the first time

Cloudy Day

30

Play as Cloud Mario for the first time

Bones to Pick

30

Play as Dry Mario for the first time

Super Bolt

40

Play as Volt Mario for the first time

Spring Shadow

40

Play as Spring Luigi for the first time

Suited with a Pound

40

Play as Pound Toad for the first time

Monkey Girl

40

Play as Spiky Toadette for the first time

Malletastic

45

Play as Mallet Maria for the first time

Light up the Dark

45

Play as Bulb Luise for the first time

Shroomy Boy

30

Unlock Toad

Shroom-ette

30

Unlock Toadette

Cousin in Red

35

Unlock Maria

Cousin in Green

35

Unlock Luise

Congratulations

100

Beat the game 100%

Trivia

The forms Invisible Mario, Sand Mario, Whomp Mario, Monkey Mario, Cursed Bomb Mario, and Spiked Yoshi were all supposed to appear, but were scrapped to being either to close to other forms, or having useless powers.

Volt Mario's color scheme is very similar to Hammer Mario's.

This game makes it apparent that Toad and Red Toad are two separate characters, as Toad can interact with Red Toad and the rest of the Toad Brigade throughout the course of the game.